Decisions, decisions
I know this has happened to you: You need to choose between two things of equal value on a project, but you just cant decide. It can be anything …
I know this has happened to you: You need to choose between two things of equal value on a project, but you just cant decide.
It can be anything walnut or cherry for a component, two drawers or four, door on the left or the right and at some point in a project you have to make a decision. As weve reflected in recent weeks, if its something a customer has specified the decision is easy. You just do what they say, or offer your thoughts to help them make the decision.
But when you have to decide, sometimes its an exercise in futility. For a recent box project, Im torn between two sizes of brass knobs. The sizes are so close that the difference is almost negligible 1/16 but even a size difference that small gives the box enough of a different look that I just cant decide. In the photo here, I have the 3/8 knobs installed and I think it looks great. But with the 5/16 knobs in place it also looks great, but just slightly different. The thing of it is, is that I like both looks equally.
Running it past my wife didnt help. Like me, she initially preferred the 3/8 knobs, but also like me shes begun to waffle in favor of the smaller ones. I keep swapping out the knobs, and our favor keeps swinging one way then the next. I feel like a member of Congress.
I could probably toss a coin and Im sure that whoever finally receives this box will be pleased, but I just cant make a decision that way. Im sure youve bumped into this kind of thing before, so how do you finally decide?
Till next time,
A.J.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.